There’s nothing wrong with trying to publicize your business via paid internet adverts and social media posts. These approaches have helped many SMEs gain a large following and ultimately enabled them to sell more and grow their revenues.
But you can score wins just as impressive– and even greater –if you can get formal media to cover your business. Some of these outlets are watched, read, and listened to by millions of people. If properly engaged, this population could form a mass from which a huge customer base can be built.
If you’re a business owner and you’d like to get the media to shine its spotlight on your organization, here are five ways you can make this happen.
Build Relationships With Journalists
A lot turns on the strength of the relationships you’re able to establish with journalists well before they cover your business. You will seldom be able to get anyone in media houses to feature your enterprise in their reportage or other published pieces unless you’ve engaged them in some meaningful way prior to the feature happening.
If you’re really keen on securing coverage from the media, you should come up with a shortlist of media companies who you’d like to nurture a relationship with and seek out people who work within them. You may find individuals who work within these outlets on sites like Twitter and LinkedIn.
Get The Press To Cover Your Events
Perhaps you’d like to organize a conference, exhibition, or networking session. Why not inform the media about it? A lot of media companies are open to publishing announcements or reports concerning such events. If you succeed at convincing them to cover your event, you could have numerous people watching or reading about it, who might eventually want to learn more about your business.
You could also set up or support a community program or Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) effort, and invite the media to report on it. Just like business-focused events, CSR programs provide the media with good content, something they’re typically on the lookout for.
Distribute Digital Press Releases
If there’s something important happening with your business– like a partnership, funding round, award, or CSR program –you could provide media outlets with information about it via press releases. If they decide that the subject of the press release is newsworthy, they may go on to publish it in their paper or website.
One great thing about press releases is that it saves journalists and content creators the effort they could have otherwise devoted to composing their content themselves. As a result, they’re often well-received by the press, if they are considered good enough. If you’re sending a copy of these documents, be sure that they’re well-written, succinct, and insightful.
Share Newsworthy Updates On Social Media
Besides sending out press releases, you could also share newsworthy information related to your business on your social media platforms. For example, if you’ve won a significant award or secured investor funding, you could break the news on Twitter. If you’re active on that platform, your announcement could be picked up by the media.
Your announcement should contain the most important facts about the subject you’re reporting on. You may also link to an article you’ve written which provides more details about it. The media is hungry for content that’s relevant and in line with what’s considered important in today’s world. Tick these boxes, and they’ll want to cover your business.
Publish New Research
Here’s another thing that the media loves to report on. In recent times, companies in various industries have gained traction by publishing new research-based data about their industry or target market. These reports have gone on to be cited by other publications, along with references to the companies that created them.
Research-based reports do more than just secure mentions by the media. They establish the publishers as authorities in their spaces– authorities worth consulting. And this fact makes them even more sought-after by the media.
Final Words
Landing time under the media’s spotlight could be transformational for your business. With the right kind of coverage from them, your business will be put before a huge audience of potential customers and set itself up for rapid growth. Follow the tips we’ve talked about here, and your business will be on its way to catching the media’s attention.
Featured Image Source: Baer Performance MarketingGot a suggestion? Contact us: editor@connectnigeria.com
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